Persona 4: Denouement
by Ronadir
Summary: The others are going back to their lives since Souji left Inaba. However, the bonds that tie them together will end up pulling Souji back into Inaba - just not in the way he would have wanted. Has Souji/Chie, some Kanji/Naoto. Rated T for Kanji-isms.
1. Souji mochi

_Good day, all. I'll be diving into the wonderful world of fanfiction with this here long fic. Persona 4: Denouement takes place a few months after the protagonist leaves Inaba, where the others go back to their lives. This is mostly for me to explore character interaction, but there will be some plot soon._

_Main viewpoint characters are Chie and Kanji for now, with a bit of focus on the Dojimas. Fair note: There'll be quite a lot of Souji/Chie, with a bit of Kanji/Naoto on the side. I will focus on the others and their interactions though so there's more to it than just romance - but I suppose that could be said for most longfics._

_Anyway, on to the story. Next chapter will be up very soon - can't say the same for the rest though, BUT ANYWAYS LET'S START._

* * *

The roof of Yasogami High. Three students were sitting there, accompanied by the cool breeze and the wispy clouds. Yukiko opened her bento, releasing the pleasant smell of the Amagi Inn's specialty.

"Chie always sits here. I wonder where she went?"

"Beats me, probably went home early." Yosuke struggled with a soda can, next to Yukiko. "If my hunch is right, though, she's probably down at the flood plain, staring off into nowhere again. Ha, there!" He cheered to himself as he got the can to open in a victorious spray of fizz.

Kanji was on the other side of Yukiko. He just took some egg tarts from a plastic bag and started munching at them, one by one. He didn't say anything for a good while, it seemed he was just enjoying the calm, fogless sky. "Y'know," he finally said, mouth full. "Things haff gotten really fuh, fuh, fuh-reakin' boring around here." He swallowed.

"You're telling me." Yosuke took a quick sip. "Rise-chan's back on our TV sets, Naoto's off on the next big case…"

Kanji stopped chewing, hearing that last bit, but then got back to it. "…Yeah."

"And Souji. Who knows where he is now. Off in the city, maybe." He took another sip. "Or maybe his folks went off to some other continent, and he's feeding a school's worth of orphans in Ghana or something, telling them to wear goofy glasses, summon the great Kumbaya in the sky and smack crocodiles with golf clubs."

Kanji nearly choked on his pastry. "You're talkin' piss. No wonder you suck at Geography."

"Just an example, Tatsumi-san. Just an example."

Yukiko giggled, controlling it before she got carried away. "Both of you have to bear with each other. It's just the four of us now."

"Bear with each other? Pft, sure thing." said Kanji.

Yosuke brushed his hair with his hand, groaning. "Please… don't say 'bear'."

"Oh." Yukiko fiddled around with her chopsticks. "I forgot about him. Hehe."

"Who knows where that blonde pervert ran off to." Kanji snarfed down the last egg tart. "Probably at Junes, sniffing everything in the women's section."

Yukiko snickered, Yosuke nearly drowned himself in soda from the horror.

* * *

Elsewhere, at the Samegawa Flood Plain, Chie was spending her after-school hours, sitting on the grass, looking at the water. She stood up, and started kicking the air, practising some of her old moves. A swift left swing. A right kick upwards, taking her a few inches off the ground. Another, and another, each one getting faster, her feet going higher than she could stand. Shouting martial arts moves, kicks being shot off before her sweat drops could fall as dew on the grass. She tumbled back down onto the grass, panting.

"Man, it's been a while since I've done this. I'm getting out of shape."

Her attention was back to the river. She turned and lay down, her head turned towards it. "Sure wish you could have trained with me." She smiled to herself. "I would've kicked you, you would've tripped and took me down with you and we'd both roll down into the river or something."

More thoughts filled up her head. She rolled in the grass and curled up. "What am I saying?" Pieces of dirt and grass in her hair, she stared off again. "…Stupid."

She sat up, brushed her hair, and pressed her hands on both sides of her face, elbows on knees. She was looking down at the grass, the grass that Souji stepped on, the grass she stepped on.

"Stupid."

* * *

The Dojimas' house, lit by streetlights and the stars. Nanako was inside, watching TV. She heard keys jingling and a click in the door. Detective Dojima walked into the house, coat over his shoulder, with a smile on his weary face. "I'm home."

"Dad! You're early!" She ran into his arms as he knelt down. Dojima was laughing.

"You say it like it's a new thing." Dojima was home early for the past few months. "What's for dinner?"

He got up and walked to the table. Looks like Nanako brought back some food from Aiya's. He microwaved them and sat down at the table, promptly eating the portion of noodles up. Nanako was standing next to the fridge. "…Dad? Do you want dessert?"

"Hm?"

Nanako rummaged through the fridge. She nervously held out a plate, with some strange snacks, neatly arranged in a trio, each looked different from the other. They appeared to be mochi. "I-I made these myself. Yukiko-san helped me with them. She said her cooking skills were getting better." Yukiko had better be right. "She wanted to make mochi for the inn, so she taught me how to make them."

Dojima was sure mochi were made in bulk, not in sets of three. "How come there's only three?"

"Yukiko-san wanted me to take more, but I only wanted to keep three to decorate. She needs the rest to feed the people in the inn." She puffed up her cheeks slightly. "I'm not greedy."

Dojima laughed. "I'm not saying you are. Can I see them?"

Dojima gently held one end of the plate to get a closer look, Nanako still holding the other end of the plate without realising. All of them were red, but Nanako seemed to have tried her best decorating each one. "Nanako, these are… you must have taken all afternoon making these. These are beautiful, thank you."

Nanako lifted her head. "Really?" She was tugging at his sleeve non-stop. "You really think so?"

"Yes, yes!" Dojima laughed, bent to the side from Nanako's pulling. He looked at the plate. "Did you make these just for me?"

"No, silly!" She started to defensively cover the mochi with her hands. "There's only three here! One per person! This one's yours." She handed him one of them. It was a square one, with a toothpick through it. On the toothpick were three tiny marshmallows, stacked on top of the other like a tiny shish-kebab. Dojima had to remember to restock the pantry, seeing how Nanako had so few choices she had to end up using marshmallows as a mochi decoration.

Dojima decided to pick two of the marshmallows out and eat them first - otherwise he wasn't sure if he could've fit it into his mouth. Nanako was fidgeting. He took a bite out of the mochi. Pleasant surprise was apparent in his eyes. "There's red bean inside." He chewed a bit before swallowing. "This is daifuku."

Nanako nodded. "Is it good?"

"Well, I'm not sure, Nanako." He held the plate on his lap and smiled at her. "This is the most delicious thing I've ever eaten."

"Really?" Pure joy took over Nanako as she pulled her father's sleeve again. She was laughing for a while before she finally calmed down. After that, she raised an eyebrow. "…Really?"

Dojima nodded. Nanako smiled again as he held out the plate to her. "Which one's yours?"

"This one." It was crudely star-shaped and appeared to have nothing but powdered sugar and sprinkles on it. Nanako handled it carefully before taking a small bite out of it.

Dojima watched her eat what was basically a mochi sugar bomb. He _definitely_ needed to restock the pantry. He continued eating while he pointed at the plate. "What about this last one?"

Sitting alone on the plate was a circular mochi, with a layer of grated coconut on it. Nanako took another bite out of her mochi. "That one's for big bro."

Dojima held the plate closer. "Souji?" He looked at the confection again. "You're… saving this?"

"Yeah, when big bro comes over next time, we can give it to him."

The Souji-mochi started to look lonelier the longer he looked at it. Dojima took some time to pick his words.

"…Nanako. I'm not sure if we can keep this long enough for Souji. Home-made mochi doesn't last as long as the ones from the store."

Nanako looked up at him. "What? Can't you call him? Ask him where he is. He's not asleep, is he?"

"Nanako…"

She stayed silent, frowning. She turned her head down, staring at the Souji-mochi. Dojima sighed and reached for the phone in his pocket. He hesitated before finally making the call. He put the phone to his ear, looking at Nanako. "I'm sure he's very busy, so don't be sad if he's not free, okay?" Nanako nodded slowly in reply.

The call went through. "Hello? Souji? This is Ryotaro, speaking." He paused, then cleared his throat a bit. "Maybe it's better if Nanako talked to you." He handed the phone over, which was quickly snatched off.

"Big bro?" Nanako held the phone tightly against her ear. "I made mochi for you, Dad and me, all by myself! When can you come over? Yours has coconut on it!"

Dojima put the plate on the table. Nanako's grip on the phone slowly loosened.

"Singapore? Is that far?"

Quite far. Dojima attention was partly on the Souji-mochi. For some reason, he had this small concern that the little coconut-sprinkled snack would just suddenly melt into a moldy slurry. He got the thought out of his head and waited for Nanako to speak. "Oh. No, it's okay. Yeah." She gave the phone back.

"Hello? No, no, I understand." Dojima paused for Souji's answer. "Alright. Take care of yourself. Goodbye. Dojima put the phone on the table. "Sorry, Nanako. Souji's all the way in Singapore, and has a lot of school work." He knelt down to give her a small hug. He patted her on the back, then got back up. He took the plate and gave it to her. "It'd be a shame to waste it. Why don't you eat this one too, for Souji?"

Nanako held the plate and gazed mournfully at the Souji-mochi. "But it's big bro's. I can't eat it."

"Well, why don't you give it to Yukiko-san? She had to make all of that mochi for the inn, she'd be happy if you gave it to her. Or any one of Souji's friends. Maybe when Souji comes over next time, you can make some new ones with him."

She was still holding the plate. He shook his head, finishing the rest of his mochi. "I'm off to bed, Nanako. You should be soon, too. Thank you for the mochi, it was delicious."

Nanako watched Dojima walk off, yawning. She circled around the Souji-mochi with her finger. Quietly, she sneaked over and opened the refrigerator door. She found the furthest, most isolated part of the shelf, and gently placed the plate there. She watched the Souji-mochi as she slowly closed it back.

Nanako decided to go to bed early. She felt it best not to have a glass of milk before going off. The milk was in the fridge, and she couldn't bear looking at the Souji-mochi again at the time. She walked off to her room and closed the door.


	2. Talking to Herself

_Chapter 2. Disclaimer: I admit, I got Naoto's texting style from zero-damage's long fic. I highly recommend reading it. _

_We should be getting into the plot (?) pretty soon. Hang in there, story. _

* * *

Morning had arrived at the Dojima household. Nanako slipped a few papers into her backpack. Some toast was on the table. Dojima quickly took a piece and opened the door.

"I have to go to work early today, Nanako. Make sure you finish your breakfast."

"Okay."

Dojima scrambled off and closed the door behind him. Nanako made sure the food was clearly on the table, so her father wouldn't have to open the refrigerator. She looked over at the guilt-inducing appliance. "Maybe I really _should_ give it to Yukiko-san." She decided to mull over it a bit more at school, so she went past the fridge and grabbed the plateful of toast off the table.

* * *

Elsewhere, a beam of sunlight welcomed itself into a room, having entered through a half-open window. Kanji was lying down on his bed, using his phone. His mother was heard in the distance. "Kanji, are you going to school today?"

He was still tapping away at the keys, line of sight dead centre on the screen. "Huh? Yeah, Ma! Sure!"

His mother walked into the room. "That's good. Your attendance is going so well now."

He sat up. "Ma! Tryin' to text here! Gimme a minute!"

"Okay, okay…" She smiled, turned around and pattered off.

"Dammit, thought the door was already reinstalled." He went back to finishing his text and sent it. He struggled with the sheets, part of it stuck to his leg. He did a hop, skip and jump off the bed, finally shaking it off and kicking it onto the bedpost. He left the phone on his desk and went to the bathroom.

After he had his clothes on, he stuffed the phone into his pocket and hurried off. "I'm going, Ma!"

Kanji continued his trek through the shopping district, on the way to Yasogami. He turned back to look at one of the shops. "Figures. Marukyu's deserted." He kept on walking. Rise would usually run up to him at this point and straight out asked him if he showered properly.

Walking alone to school was something Kanji did often, on days he actually felt like going to school. This time, though, Kanji found himself monologuing far more often, internally or otherwise. He still wasn't too used to not talking to Rise or Naoto on the way to school, even if they were just one-word replies.

_Dammit. Those two were the only ones in my year I could talk to. How am I supposed to do anything now?_

His cell phone gave off a soft, continuous buzzing. He checked it. Naoto had replied to his text.

_MORNING. IM FINE THANKS FOR ASKING. HOWS SCHOOL?_

Kanji can't help but wonder how she'd be so lazy she'd just type in all caps, but still spelled out most of the words. Maybe that sort of thing bothered her. He typed back while walking.

_Pretty crap 2__nd __year alone. No big deal since same thing w/you._

He continued walking before another reply buzzed in.

_SORRY I COULDNT TUTOR YOU LONGER_

_Sokay no prob_

_GTG BYE_

_Bye_

He kept feeling adding his "Bye" was unneeded. He put the phone back into his pocket and kept walking_. Inbox getting full, gotta remember to check through today_.

He hadn't got to it for some months, despite the constant self-reminders. Well, he did, once, but he mostly ended up deleting Rise's texts. He still remembered not deleting some of Naoto's messages, asking him for advice on how to sew back a sleeve from her shirt she accidentally tore.

_This is crazy._ He took the phone and thumb-smacked the keys straight to his inbox. He looked through.

_HEY KANJI NEED HELP. BUSY?_

He kept looking through the rest of the messages, still walking.

_SHIRT SLEEVE HAS SMALL TEAR AT SHOULDER SEAM. WHAT TO DO?_

_OK IS THE RUNNING STITCH THE ONE YOU ALWAYS USE?_

_THIS IS THE 3__RD__ TIME. SURE I MUST STITCH OVER THIS MANY TIMES?_

_AFTER THAT TIE A KNOT?_

_OK DONE THANKS_

_LOOKS ABIT OFF. DID I SEW WRONG?_

_WHAT DO YOU MEAN I HAD TO TURN THE SHIRT OVER?_

All of those stupid texts, and he couldn't muscle his own finger down on the keypad to delete a single one of them. Why didn't she just call him that time? His thumb was jittering. Finally it moved – and exited the inbox. Kanji started waving the phone around back and forth so hard he could've knocked anyone in the way out cold. He clenched his teeth.

"Quit cramming up my inbox, dammit!"

The echo spread out over the shopping district, before the place was restored to silence. Fortunately, no one was around. Kanji quickly slipped the phone back into his pocket and quickened his pace.

Kanji entered class 2-1. He could feel practically the whole room cringing the moment they heard the door slide open. He sat down. All the desks seemed to be arranged in perfect rows and columns. The ones immediately surrounding him – he noticed – were misaligned by at least six inches. Away from him. All of them. They must have unanimously conspired it and hoped he wouldn't notice.

_Huh, well this sort of sucks._

He shook his head. _Whatever, screw them. More arm space for me anyway, so suck on that._

Kanji put his hand at the side of his pants, making sure the cell was still there. Souji would've sorted this out easy. But Souji wasn't there, and he wasn't Souji. Kanji clenched his fist on his desk.

_Well, shits and damns._

* * *

Class 3-2. Chie was barely following Sofue-sensei's lesson. She looked over to her deskmate, Yukiko. She smiled sheepishly at her.

"Heh, sorry Yukiko. I didn't sleep too well last night. Could you brief me in when the lesson's over?"

Yukiko didn't turn her head, but looked at Chie. "Oh, okay, sure." She smirked a bit. "Sleep well."

"Thanks." She crossed her arms on her desk and rested her head on them. She turned her head the other way, then back to where it was. Sleep seemed to be avoiding her. She felt her cheek against one of her wristbands. Her eyes were heavy, but her thoughts kept her awake. She lifted her head. "…Hey, Yukiko?"

She was still paying full attention to Sofue-sensei. "Hm?"

"…" The thoughts couldn't filter through. Each question just kept building up into a stammering mound at the back of her mouth. "...Nothing."

Sofue-sensei went on about rubber plantations and train tracks, that's all Chie could catch. She raised her hand.

"Sofue-sensei? I need to go to the restroom."

Sofue-sensei was snapped out of her droning. "Oh? Yes, very well." She motioned her hand towards the door.

Nodding, Chie went towards the exit, and ran the second she got out of the class. Her hurried footsteps echoed throughout each hallway she ran past, until she finally reached her destination. She poked her head into the girls' restroom. "Hello? Anyone here?"

No reply. Chie closed the door behind her and propped herself against it. She held out her hands and concentrated, directing her thoughts toward her open hands. A card gradually materialised on her right hand. She took it and palmed it hard against the wall, the card crumpling before shattering into pieces.

Watching the shards gradually fade off, Chie tilted her head. "What? Where is she?"

A loud thud came from behind her. She quickly turned around to find Suzuka Gongen, sitting on the floor. She was rubbing her head - she was so big she was pressed up against the bathroom stalls on her right. She certainly didn't look as graceful or confident as she did when she was in action. There appeared to be a small dent in the ceiling.

After recovering from being booted out of Chie's inner self, Suzuka Gongen looked around the place in confusion - and slight disgust. Seeing Chie on the ground in front of her, she tried to squirm just enough to bend down to get a closer look. Chie patted her sore head.

"Hey, sorry. This was the nearest empty place." She checked behind her to be sure no one had heard anything. "I thought I could focus all of… these thoughts and send them out. My head does feel a bit clearer."

Looking at her Persona cramped up in the bathroom, she held her head down. "But now it hit me - that you have to go back in sooner or later, bringing all of them back." She sighed as she sat down on the floor, turned around and leaned back on Suzuka Gongen, hopefully easing her discomfort by providing some warmth on the cold tiles. "Hey, you got any advice?"

Suzuka tilted her head at Chie. Chie tilted back. "What do you mean, advice on what? I-I dunno, just help me make sense of all of this." Suzuka was fiddling around with her armour. "Come on, well?"

She paused to look at Chie for a while. She wiggled her right arm out from her side and motioned for Chie to move away. She then struggled to take out her left arm, and grabbed her double-bladed sword, which was on the ground. Holding it with both hands, she started to etch on the bathroom wall on her left. Chie quickly stood up and threw her arms into the air.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing? The pothole in the ceiling was bad enough!"

Ignoring her, Suzuka continued, engraving some crude text into the wall. When she was done, she put the sword down and pointed at the text. Two words were written there, one a few inches away from the other, just beside it.

_Chie Souji_

She pointed at Chie's name and her finger kept tapping at it, hoping the message would get through. Chie went to take a closer look, the words being slightly lower than eye level. "...Me?"

Suzuka's finger then slowly traced, from Chie's name, to Souji's. She then directed Chie's attention to herself and started to make some hand motions, holding out her right fist, then using her left hand to make a palm over her right hand, like a roof, or an umbrella. Chie tried to decode it.

"You're saying that... I want to keep him, Souji, safe?"

Suzuka held out a quick thumbs up and nodded vigorously. She then opened her right hand and held out two fingers, moving them back and forth, alternately. Walking. It had something to do with walking. Chie thought harder.

"But... now... I can't. Because he's far away."

Suzuka nodded again in silent, excited relief. She then tapped at Souji's name at the wall and lingered there for a while. Then, she traced her finger back to Chie's name, an inverse of her earlier action. She quickly made a roof over her fist again, before finally pointing at Chie.

"...And Souji wants to keep me safe, too?"

Suzuka held out her palm flat, facing downwards, moving slowly about her wrist. True, but not quite. She pointed at Chie again, lightly poking her in the forehead for emphasis.

"..._I_ want Souji to keep me safe, too?"

Thumbs up. She made the walking motion again.

"But he can't. Because, he isn't... here."

Suzuka started fist-pumping in victory. She leaned back on the wall to rest her fingers from her first game of charades. Her arms were crossed, her chin up in satisfaction. Chie was just standing there.

"Is that what this is about?" She squatted down, looking at the wall. "...Maybe I haven't changed a single bit. I'm now hanging onto him, instead of Yukiko. And... I want him to hang on me." She held the sides of her head.

"Th-This is terrible. I can barely stand on my own feet, and here I am hoping he'd hold onto me. If I were to hold him up, both of us would fall down."

Suzuka looked over. She uncrossed her arms and leaned forward again, scooting closer to Chie. She held Chie from both of her arms and lifted her up from the floor, holding her until she stood up properly. Suzuka pointed at her wrist. Chie looked at them. She was wearing her colourful wristbands, the ones she always wore, the ones Souji wore - a matching set she gave him months ago.

She looked up at the warrior in front of her. The warrior bestowed upon her through her newly found resolve, her hard-earned epiphany. A new outlook on life, which might not have been if she didn't meet Souji, if she hadn't gotten as close to him as she did.

This same warrior who symbolised the turning over of her life, who always stood by her, tall, steadfast, reliable, graceful. This warrior was everything she wanted to be, the inner hero she had aspired to become, everything she thought she wasn't.

This same warrior was now sitting clumsily in a bathroom, putting someone like her - a tiny, frail little thing - back on her feet, patting her on the head, eyes gleaming with joy because she helped with some girl's stupid problems. Chie rubbed her eyes.

"Suzuka, thank you."

Suzuka held out her hand. Instinctively, Chie put her hand against hers, initiating a high-five. She laughed at just how weird it was, high-fiving her Persona - sort of like she was high-fiving herself, she thought. Suzuka's hand was huge compared to hers, though. As she went to open the door, wiping her tears against her sleeve, she turned around - noticing something. "Hey, what are we going to do about that wall you just carved?"

Suzuka jolted back and quickly shrugged, before fading away and entering Chie - a swift escape. She laughed. "You'd think it'd be more crowded in there than it is out here."

Chie closed the door to go back to class, taking one more look at the wall before closing the door, leaving the two words - written side by side, a bright little scrawl on the worn, faded surface.

Chie, and Souji.


	3. A Campout Approaches

Sort of a not-so-wordy chapter. Thanks for the reviews. **Also, Persona 4 anime coming soon? YEESSSSSSS!**

* * *

"Nanako, I need you to be careful. Lock the door properly and don't answer for strangers when you're alone in the house."

Detective Dojima had just come home from work. He was seated on the floor, eating ramen with his daughter. Nanako answered.

"I know that already."

"I know you do, but just be extra careful."

"...Are you trying to catch someone? Is there a bad person out there?"

He poked the ramen with his chopsticks and lifted a few strands into the air to cool. "You could say that. The biker gangs seemed to have come back to Inaba. We found some of them straggling around the edge of town, but they were very bold with us - they may have gotten more members since they left."

"Oh." Nanako blew at her ramen and started fanning it with her hand.

"They might want to try to terrorise the town again, but we don't know that for now. But you must be careful, just in case." Dojima added. "Bikers, or not."

"Okay." The rest of the dinnertime went by, both of them watching TV while eating.

"So, Nanako. Who did you give the mochi to?"

Nanako prematurely swallowed her ramen. "Oh, um... I didn't. Yet! I... wanted to give it to Yukiko-san, but I couldn't find her."

"I see. Don't wait too long."

"Okay."

"I may be late tomorrow, since I'll still be checking out what those bikers are up to."

"Alone?"

Dojima shook his head. "No, two officers will be there with me."

"Oh, okay."

Nanako finished up her ramen and went to the kitchen, stealing a glance at the fridge as she went.

* * *

The next day, Yasogami High. It was Mathematics, and Kanji was suffering.

_How. Do you. Answer this?_

Clutching the sides of his head and staring at the book was all that he could do. The desk next to him - while all the rest were side by side, there was a clear half-foot gap between his and the girl next to him. Both of them were the only ones without seats during orientation, enough said. The teacher didn't even notice the gap. He figured he could take a shot and leaned over to his left.

"Hey, could'ja help me out here?"

Startled, she started hunching and clutched her table. "Huh?"

Kanji sighed and tried lowering his voice. "Look." He started over. "I need help with this question. I know you gotta substitute this, but I haven't a clue on how to start. If you could explain how it works..."

"...Can I see your book?"

Well that was quick. "Huh? Oh." He lifted the book over the gap and passed it over. She quickly scribbled something into it and handed it back.

"There."

She wrote the start of the equation where Kanji was supposed to, all level and neat compared to his handwriting. _Which part of "explain" didn't you- _

Kanji sighed again and tried figuring it out by himself from what she gave him. He glanced at her. _Could've sworn she was sitting closer just now. _

_...Wait. Dammit! _He was going to have to deal with it later. He quickly tried to answer, while listening to the teacher at the same time.

The end of the period. It was lunchtime, and Kanji was already widening his steps so he could get out of class and meet the others. Something he vaguely recognised was at a tiny little corner in his vision. He looked behind and saw that same girl from class, standing near the emergency hose reel. She was there nibbling at some food by herself, a glint in her glasses from the sunlight entering the window.

_...Huh. 'Sup with her._ Kanji ignored her and went towards the roof. He stumbled and almost fell off some steps when he heard someone behind him.

"Are you Kanji Tatsumi?"

Kanji straightened himself out and faced her. She wasn't from his class, but he did recall Souji talking to her once or twice. Not that he didn't talk to anyone else, but what was different was that he remembered Souji hauled a mounting board or something all the way to school so he could give it to her.

"Yeah, that's me."

_Maybe I'm talking too loud_. He cleared his throat, hopefully clearing out some of the roughness in his voice.

"I'm him. Somethin' up?"

The girl, also bespectacled, stood up with some sort of weird confidence, hands lightly on hips.

"Yes! I'm aware that you're one of Souji Seta's friends, right?"

"Oh. Yeah... sure am."

"Well, see..." She arched forward and beckoned for Kanji to follow her into the corridor. They arrived at Class 2-2, beside Kanji's. "Hold on."

She went inside and took something out from her bag. She quickly got back out and went off to the end of the corridor, Kanji cluelessly folowing. She held the object out for him to see.

"Seta-senpai has helped me a fair bit. I'm an apprentice of the artisan Daidara because of his advice."

"Daidara? He's the guy who sold us... um, yeah. Him. So?"

"When I heard Seta-senpai had left this school, I started working on this, under Daidara's guidance." She was holding a simple-looking sculpture. It was sort of a trophy, with a base and a body, the body having two curving wing-shaped metal pieces, both of them almost forming a circle.

"I only finished this recently. This is a sign of my gratitude. When someone does a good deed, it will not go unnoticed by me, especially if it's a good deed towards me!"

Her enthusiasm shook Kanji's attention off the statue a bit. She continued.

"I don't know where he is now, though. So that's the problem."

"...Can I see it?"

She carefully handed it over to him. Kanji took it and examined it from every angle. The metalwork's not bad, though the paint job it had seemed to look better. Must have been better with painting.

"So... you're just gonna send this in a parcel or somethin'?" He was still unsure of what to make of it. Does she even know him that well? "...Sorry. I don't know what his address is. Just know he's in Singapore."

"Singapore?" She took the statue back. "Oh. Why not... why don't you keep it? It'll be easier for you to give this to him."

Kanji fumbled around with his arms as she gave it back to him. "What? Can't you do it yourself?"

"You have a better chance of seeing him. Come on, take it."

"I ain't- Why're you so excited about sending him your statue? All he did was give you a freakin' board!" He put it back in her hands.

"Two! Two boards! I- I'm very open in expressing my gratitude!" She gave it back.

"What is this? I can't-" He pushed the statue back. "I'm not getting this! You like him or something?"

"No I don't! It's just something I made! I wanted to dedicate my first metal craft to-"

"Listen, I've gotta get some lunch. You can keep it for when the guy shows up, okay? If you still can't, then... then go ask Yosuke Hanamura! He's in 3-2!"

Kanji turned back and ran up the stairs before she could form a complete sentence. Walking out towards the roof, he saw a girl with an umbrella quickly stepping out of his way while he headed towards the usual lunch spot. Yosuke, Yukiko and Chie were there.

"What's the hurry, Kanji? You look tense," said Chie.

Yukiko nodded. Kanji just sat down next to Yosuke.

"Nothin'. Just tired… from… running."

"From who?" Yosuke tilted his head in a rather exaggerated manner. Most likely on purpose. "You, Kanji Tatsumi, running _away_ from other people?" He stroked his chin. "We're in Soviet Russia, aren't we?"

The reference flew right past Kanji's bleached head. "What's Russia got to do with this? I wasn't running from anyone! A guy's gotta exercise, is all!"

Yukiko and Chie seem baffled as well. Yosuke kept to himself. "Never mind. Guess I'm the only one here who uses the internet." He took out his food and ate it, sighing. "My queen would not be pleased. Forgive me, Boxxy. Or Tabby. I just can't decide, damn!"

Chie turned to Kanji. "Well, moving on from the Freak of a Thousand In-jokes here, the school camp's gonna be here soon."

"It's June already?" Yukiko seemed surprised. "Do you think we should, um…"

She swallowed. "…Make our own food?"

Yosuke instinctively froze, but didn't say anything. Yukiko stammered.

"B-but I _have_ been getting better! I've been training at the inn and everything. I'm sure it at least… can be eaten…" She continued. "You have to admit, the food I make does taste decent now. Y-You're just scared of what happened last year, Yosuke-kun."

"Damn right I'm scared." Yosuke kept eating. "I'm losing my appetite just thinking about it. If my digestive system had a bladder, it'd wet itself in pure horror."

"...I haven't been brushing up on my cooking skills, though," said Chie, ignoring Yosuke's rambling. "If you can even call them skills…"

Yosuke spoke up again. "I'd like to have hope in you guys, but you're one unlucky food tester short." He continued. "Souji was in our group last year. Who's gonna fill up the empty slot now? Don't make me eat whatever it is you're making all by myself!"

"Oh, well, I checked this morning," said Yukiko.

"Don't say Hanako…" Yosuke looked visibly troubled. "I've seen that football guy, Daisuke, around. Is it him?"

"…No, he's not in our class."

"Um… Kou? He's in our class this year."

"No…" Yukiko continued. "Ai Ebihara, she joined our class this year. Remember?"

Kanji peered over to look at Yosuke's speechless face. "Well you look happy all of a sudden."

Chie groaned. "I think he remembers all too well…"

"You're not kidding? That's awesome!" Yosuke smiled. "She's so pretty. One of the slimmest girls I've ever seen. Too bad she sits at the back."

"She seems a bit hostile, though." Chie added. "But I think she's softened up these past few months."

Yosuke nodded. "Still, you know what'd be really awesome? If she can cook something good, that'd be the winner right there." Yukiko shuffled her feet while he continued. "Whoa… that means I'm the only guy in the group? How did I get so lucky? Sweet! Picking up trash at the mountain doesn't seem so bad now…"

Kanji sighed. "Still… you're gonna be alone in the tent?"

"Huh, I don't know about that. Not if Kou and Daisuke show up. They might call in sick, I dunno."

"Not sure if I wanna sneak into your tent again. Seems like a lotta trouble after what happened last year…" Kanji groaned deeply.

"Well, we'll talk to Ai-san in class," said Chie. "If what you say is true, Yosuke, it'd be great if she could help us out."

Yukiko nodded. "We'll be going to Junes to buy ingredients. Maybe she'll know what to get for the campout."

Chie smiled at Yosuke. "Give us a discount, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah…" Suddenly remembering, he lightened up. "…Well, okay. Sure, only if Ai ends up following you though."

"You can't do that!"

Yosuke just shrugged. The four of them went back to class. Kanji walked with them partway before saying goodbye at the corridor. He turned towards class 2-1. On the way to the stairs, he spotted that same girl again, glasses gleaming in inconvenient, yet scary determination. She spoke up.

"Hey-"

"N-Not listening!" He ran down the stairs and took refuge in 2-1. He slumped himself onto his seat. _Looks like another bad campout this year._ Now that he thought about it, Naoto and Rise never had the chance to go to a school campout at Yasogami. He didn't know whether to consider that a bad thing, or good luck for them. Sighing, he took a box of snacks out of his pocket, examining it before putting it back.

_At least I'll always have you, animal crackers._

* * *

Back at class 3-2, everyone was waiting for the teacher to arrive. Chie and Yukiko went over to Ai's seat, near the back of the class. Ai looked up at both of them.

"…Yes? What is it?"

Yukiko started. "Um… Ai-san, you're in our group for the school campout this weekend."

Her eyebrows lifted a little. "…Is it? So?"

"Well, we're going over to Junes. We need to buy ingredients for the food. So, we thought…"

"Oh." She paused for a while. "Mmm… no dice. I'm busy today."

"...Oh. That's fine," Yukiko replied. "…Are you… Will you even go to the campout?"

Ai nodded unhappily. "Yeah, I have to. I'll just meet you both there."

They both nodded and turned away. Just then, Ai called them again.

"H-hey, wait."

They both turned around. Chie answered. "Yes?"

Ai looked hesitant. "Last year… Souji Seta, he's your friend right? He was always hanging out with you two."

Yukiko nodded. Ai seemed to be deep in thought. "…Okay. I'll go to Junes with you. What're you making?"

"Really? That's good!" Chie smiled. "But… what _are_ we making? Yukiko?"

Yukiko furrowed her brow. "It can't be curry again, could it?"

"I dunno… maybe we'll be better this year. Compare how we did and all that. We've had this much time, surely it'll taste better, right?"

Ai sat there watching their conversation. "You both sound like you can't cook."

Both of them re-acknowledged Ai's presence. "W-We're getting better!" Yukiko stammered.

"Um, yeah." Chie nodded quickly. "…Can you?"

"Me? Not really."

Both of them winced slightly. Chie rubbed the back of her head. "Yosuke's not gonna like the sound of that… But then again, I think he'd still be happy either way, considering…"

"Just bring a recipe card then," said Ai. "Just buy what it says. If you're that unsure, don't add anything fancy. Simple logic."

"Right, simple…" Chie looked over at Yukiko. "...What group is Hanako in, again? We could convince her to share..."

"…I don't think we should consider that option. I'm sure we can handle it." She turned to Ai. "We'll meet at the food court after school. Thank you for agreeing to come with us, Ai-san."

"Huh. Oh, sure." Ai fidgeted and forced a smile. Yukiko and Chie went back to their seats, and classes went on as usual after that.

* * *

"How did we end up in the same group? We're in different classes." Classes have ended. Daisuke Nagase was talking to his friend, Kou, in the corridor.

"Odd one out, maybe? Call it a twist of fate, I don't know how it works." Kou shrugged. "Who else is with us?"

"Oh, uh, let me think." Daisuke tapped a finger on his forehead. "Hanako Ohtani… and Yumi Ozawa."

"Ozawa? Didn't she help out when we did that play at the Culture Festival?"

"Yeah…" Daisuke tightened a little. "And that Hanako, I remember her from the pageant. Brr."

Kou laughed. "Oh, her. Good thing there were better sights to see. Got me? Chie was pretty cute…"

"Huh? I dunno. I thought Yukiko was better, but they were all more or less the same though."

"Man, everyone's the same to you…" Kou sighed and shook his head, smiling. "Well, we should meet up with them soon. I think I might skip practice today, try my hand at cooking."

"Seriously?" Daisuke was taken aback. "Wow…"

"Yep." Kou crossed his arms. "One well-rounded individual, coming right up. You'll see."

"Huh, that's really something, skipping practice for this. It's a pretty lousy campout anyway, so I don't get why you're so fired up about it." Daisuke shrugged. "Thought you were obsessed with polishing balls, guess not."

"Hey, shut it!" They both laughed, and Kou continued heartily. "Anyway, Ozawa's in your class, right? Go talk to her about the camp."

"Oh, right." Daisuke slowly inched back towards the staircase.

"Hey, what's with the tiptoeing?"

Hearing this, Daisuke sprang off straight down the stairwell. "That leaves you with Ohtani! Talk to her, pal!"

"H-Hey! Yo!" He could only hear a faint goodbye as Daisuke's voice slowly drained out over the distance. "That's not right, Nagase! The first leech I find in the mountain is going straight into your meal! The meal that I'll cook! Because I'm just that good! You hear me?"

Considering the other students staring and the fact that Daisuke was probably halfway out of the school… no, he didn't. "Well, crap. Maybe Ohtani went home already." Kou looked around a bit, and sure enough – in some sort of spiteful rebellion of his wishes, there she was, standing idly near the staircase, taking notice of him. Kou composed himself and walked up to her.

"Hey, Hanako Ohtani? Just here to point out you're in my group for the school campout, with Daisuke Nagase and Yumi Ozawa."

Hanako looked blankly. "Huh? Oh, okay-"

"Got it? Awesome, see you there!" He waved impatiently as he went down the stairs, nearly tripping over half of them. At the rate he was running, he could have caught up to Daisuke and strangled him in record time.

Meanwhile, Daisuke had escaped to the practice building. He stopped running and leaned against a wall. "Whew. Just in time for training. Hm?" He recognised someone walking through the hallway. Short black hair, skinny frame, could it be Ozawa? Daisuke hadn't really seen her that many times, but he's not one to forget faces. He walked up to her. "Yumi Ozawa?"

She blinked, rather sleepily, but smiled a bit. "Yes, that's me. You're from my class, aren't you?"

He nodded. "Just here to give a heads-up. It's about the campout. We're both in the same group."

"Oh, that's right. I checked earlier, thank you for telling me anyway." Daisuke nodded again before hurrying to football practice. Yumi continued walking, talking to herself. "Hm… that's in two more days. I should go home earlier and get packed."

Just as she was heading for the stairs, Kou came running up. He was going to keep running before Yumi called him. "Hey, wait! You must be Kou Ichijo. Daisuke-kun told me about the campout…"

Kou stopped, wiping a bead of sweat off his forehead. "Oh, so he told you? That's cool. That's means he shouldn't be far. Where'd that ditcher go?"

Yumi pointed at the practice field. Kou looked over. "Ah, right. Thanks!"

Leaving them to their own business, Yumi went down the stairs. Daisuke's voice could be heard in the distance.

"Oh, hey, Kou. Hey, where'd you get the cleats from? Why're you holding them like that? ...Dude?"


	4. Of Junes and Mara

_A rather short one this time, just getting into the flow of things. Thanks for the reviews and reads so far._

* * *

Yosuke went back home, a rather content look on his face. When he opened the door, something pounced on him.

"Yosuke, you're home!"

Shaken out of his Ai-related daydreaming, he scrambled to get his attacker's grip off him. "Gah! I told you to stop doing that, you crazy bear! Get back inside!" Yosuke got up and dusted himself off.

"Sorry, Yosuke. I'm just happy to see you. In fact, I'm bear-y ha-"

"Don't start!" Yosuke swatted him inside and closed the door. "Good thing you weren't wearing the suit, I would've been smothered." Yosuke went into his room to change, leaving Teddie outside the room.

"Hey Yosuke, can I come in?"

"I'm getting changed, could you just wait?" After a while, he unlocked the door. Teddie swooped inside and sat on the futon. Yosuke quickly checked himself in the mirror. "I'm going to Junes. The school campout is coming, and the others want to buy ingredients."

Teddie started bouncing on the futon. "Ooh, can I follow?"

"Sure. I mean… I'm pretty sure you're supposed to be working right now."

"That's not what I meant! I mean the camp! It sounds like fun!"

"What? I- ugh, I'm in a rush, get dressed and we'll talk on the way." He left the room and waited outside the house. Soon, Teddie came out and they both started walking to Junes.

"What do you do at this school campout?"

"You wouldn't wanna come. All you do there is go to a mountain and pick up trash there."

"A mountain? Yes, I can see it… Mist mingled with garbage-scented fumes…"

"I'm serious. Even if you manage to sneak into it, which I strongly suggest you don't - the tent will be too crammed for you."

"…Will there be girls there?"

"Huh? Yeah, but boys and girls sleep separately."

"Can't I sleep at the girls' campsite then? Don't worry if it's too crowded. With my incredible flexibility and slim physique, I'll squeeze in between them, easy!"

Yosuke didn't speak after that. They eventually arrived at the food court at Junes. Chie and Yukiko, along with Ai, were sitting at a table. Teddie gasped.

"Yuki-chan and Chie-chan? And who is that?"

Yosuke grabbed him by the shoulders before he could start running towards the girls. "Ohoho no, you're going straight to the griddle." He walked past the girls' tables, redirecting Teddie at the same time. "Hey, let me just get rid of him for- oof!"

Teddie had his elbow pressed against Yosuke's face, trying to brake as hard as he could with Yosuke pushing. "B-But I wanna talk to them! And who is she? Her face is so nice… she must be an enjoyable sort!"

"That's it! You're stacking frozen peas!" He quickly forced Teddie into Junes and headed towards the girls' table. "And don't come out!"

Wiping his forehead, he put both hands on the table. "You guys ready?"

Yukiko stood up first, followed by Chie. "Yep. And we brought Ai with us, too. So how about that discount?"

Ai got up and looked at her. "Discount?"

"Oh, uh- don't listen to her," said Yosuke. "Nice to meet you, I'm Yosuke." He gave a meek wave, and an even meeker smile.

Ai just looked at his hand, close to his body - waving like he was holding a fan. "…Right. Ai Ebihara, but I guess you know that."

All of them walked into Junes. Teddie was waiting by the elevator. Yosuke skidded to a halt. "Wha- What're you still doing here?"

Teddie took notice of the group and gave a cheerful wave. "You told me not to come out, so I didn't."

"I also told you to stack peas, but hey presto, here you are! Haul it!"

"What's the deal?" Ai walked up to the elevator, next to a subsequently flustered Teddie. "Don't see anything wrong with him coming."

"Yeah, Yosuke!" Teddie nodded like a pneumatic drill. "I like her, she's nice to me!"

Yosuke gave a stare at Yukiko and Chie. Both of them shrugged and went to the elevator too. He eventually dragged his feet, muttering to himself. "Figures. Takes a guy to get why he's such a load. Even Kanji wouldn't have let this slide…"

A half-hearted monologue if there was ever one. The group arrived at the wet market in Junes. Yukiko motioned for the others to gather at the side. She took out a card. "Okay. This is the recipe card for curry. Let's begin."

As time went on, the girls loading the trolleys, Yosuke was at the back of the group – their human ticket to reasonable discounts. He had his arms crossed, observing them.

"...You know, forget what I said. I've got faith in you guys."

"Huh?" Yukiko was making space in the trolley.

"Yeah. I mean, that Christmas cake from that time was great, even if it did take three tries to get it that way… So you better make a kickass meal for the camp!"

Chie smiled. "Consider it done."

Yukiko seemed surprised. "Oh. Thanks, Yosuke-kun. To be honest, though… Naoto-kun did most of the work making that cake..."

Teddie was trying to pry free samples from a salesgirl when he managed to get a piece of the conversation. "You mean Naoto-_chan_!"

Yukiko nodded. "Ah, right. But thank you anyway. We'll try extra hard!"

Ai was stacking several packets of powder. "Huh? It's just curry, come on."

"Well, sure, it's supposed to be," said Chie. "It was supposed to be curry last year too, but the tasters disagreed…"

"…Eh." Ai must have assumed it could've have been that bad and went to look for more ingredients.

Teddie went up to the group. "That lady was so nice, giving me these little sausages with sticks in them!"

Indeed, he had a plate full of them. Yosuke grabbed one. "Dude, you can't just take samples like that!" Resisting the urge to eat it, he put it back on the plate. "Give it back."

"B-but it's free! And I work here, I can eat for free at my own workplace, right? Where are my rights?"

"At the food stall, where you're going to haul those samples back." Yosuke tried shooing him away. "Go on, get- AGH!"

Yosuke shielded his eyes from Teddie's barrage of sparkles. "Just one, Yosuke…?"

Yosuke uncovered his face, sighing. "Fine. Give it back quick once you're done, we're almost done looking for ingredients."

Teddie grinned and turned around towards the stall. Chie started pushing the trolley. "We're done. Ready to check us through, Yosuke?"

"Huh? Yeah, yeah…" The group left for the cashier after Teddie caught up with them. While waiting for the items to be checked out, Ai was putting the plastic bags into the trolley.

"So, uh… Ai-san?" said Yosuke. "You, uh… come to Junes often?"

Ai just glanced up at him. "I guess." She got right back to stacking.

Yosuke rubbed the back of his head and turned to Chie. "Um, not much of a conversationalist, is she?"

Chie shrugged. "Not when she's only got that opening line to work with, I guess."

"Ugh…" Maybe he'll have more luck at the campout, he thought.

* * *

Inside a room, bathed with blue. A strange man was pouring a glass of wine for both his assistant and himself. Thay both proposed an unspecified toast and sipped.

"Ah, simply divine, would you not think so?" The man's assistant said - eyes closed, sitting with one leg over the other.

"Indeed, Margaret." The man, Igor, took in the wine's aroma - which shouldn't be hard, considering his oddly large nose. "Sicilian, 42 A.D."

"Hm?" Margaret looked at the drink, moving the glass so the scarlet liquid formed a tiny whirlpool. "Certainly it isn't that old."

"A rare delicacy indeed." He didn't seem to hear her, and merely chuckled to himself. She just smiled and put the glass aside. She took a large book and opened it. This caught the man's attention. "Brushing up on the compendium again, I see? Why, you must have read it a thousand times."

Margaret laughed a bit. "That may not be as big a hyperbole as you might think. It's all quite fascinating, I find."

He nodded and pointed a bony finger to one of the pages. "Why, look at this fellow over here, he certainly looks- oh." He winced a bit before regaining composure. "I keep forgetting our friend, Mara. Must have kept slipping my mind. Or maybe, my mind kept casting him out."

Margaret just kept quiet, eyes on the compendium. Igor adjusted his collar.

"...You can stop staring, if you may."

Margaret quickly stammered an apology and flipped through the pages. After a while, she looked at him. It was a familiar look, a sly smile, but with a childlike playfulness in her eyes. Margaret went back to the page on Mara. "Round One, same as before?"

Igor raised an eyebrow before nodding, chuckling in consent. "I'm certain I can make the time. If you may start..."

Margaret thought for a while. "I have heard this often-said quote. I certainly can't blame Mara. It's... not easy being green." She tried to stifle a laugh.

Igor pointed up a finger. "Ah, but I am sure he will persevere. He does have a high... endurance level."

Margaret quickly replied. "He is weak to light. Does it mean he has to hide himself in a dark place?"

"One wonders why he is of the Tower arcana, of all things!"

"Well, at least he absorbs fire. That fellow gets stronger when he gets more heat!"

The Velvet Room was filled with the echoes of their laughter, neither of them concerned about anyone watching their pun duel. Soon, both of them calmed down. Igor wiped a tear from his eye.

"Ahaha... we must apologise to him later."

Margaret nodded, still chuckling. Igor relaxed his posture, leaning back on his seat, head turned towards his assistant.

"Thank you for your company, my dear."

Margaret took back the glass of wine and brushed some stray hairs aside, keeping her blonde locks neat as they were before. She smiled before taking a sip. "You are welcome. Likewise."

Igor clapped his hands twice, and choir music resounded throughout their domain. The Velvet Room resumed to normality.

* * *

_Author's Note: If you don't know who Mara is, I must apologise in advance for two things: you may not have understood the puns, and when you look him up, you might not have wanted too. :p Oh well!_


End file.
